In Check
by heartlandobsessed1
Summary: Katniss just got back to District 12 after the 74th hunger games. What will happen between her and Gale? will things be the same? will they be better? will they be worse? will they be able to keep their hormones in check?


**This is my first Hunger Games fic, and really my first fic. Well, my first one that I actually plan on continuing lol. So please cut me some slack. I would love your reviews and suggestions cuz I need all the help I can get! Warning to all of the Peeta lovers: this is a Katniss/GALE fanfic! I always thought that she should have chosen Gale at the end of **_**Mockingjay**_** instead of Peeta, so ya. I was pretty upset about that. This story starts **_**right**_** after the first book. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games book Trilogy or any of the characters or any of that stuff.**

_I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go. _**(That's the last line in the first book, in case you didn't know)**

The door of the train opens. Scared, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, not ready to see all the interviewers and drama. But when I open my eyes, it is silent. In front of the open train door is just our friends and family waiting for us. No interviewers, no cameras, no reporters, no crazy capitol people, just our District 12 friends and family.

My face breaks into a wide smile when I see my mom and sister. My mom, standing by Prim's side with an eager and relieved look on her face, and Prim, my sweet sister, clutching Gale's side. They are all waiting for my reaction. I can't help myself. I missed my family so much that I completely forget about Peeta. I rush over to my sister, and I bring her into a tight embrace. Tears are running down my face, but I don't care in the least bit. I am just so happy to be alive and to be here with my family.

I open my eyes and see my mother staring and Prim and I. Reluctantly, I let go of her and wrap my arms around my mom instead. Mother is laughing and crying at the same time. I am so relieved to see that she didn't go back to her world of depression since I went to the games. She seems very happy and alive. Better than I remember seeing her in a while.

Then I remember that Gale is standing there too. Although I am not sure where we stand, I am so grateful to see him again. He is my best friend in the whole wide world, and no one could _ever_ replace him. I don't know if we will ever be more than friends, or if I will ever be more than friends with anyone, but I can't explain the feeling of joy that I get when I release my arms from around my mom and place them around Gale's strong neck. He is so warm. Gale, I have never seen him cry before, but right now, I can feel it. His head, he has bent down into the crook of my neck, and I can feel his tears wetting my hair. I don't know why, but this makes me feel extremely happy. Gale missed me. Gale missed me a lot. Gale missed me so much that he is hugging me so tightly that I can barely breathe, and he is crying tears of happiness onto my neck.

I don't know how long all of the hugging lasted, but I am now walking to our house with my mom and my sister at my side. That was a much better homecoming than I expected. All of my loved ones were there to welcome me back, and there were no annoying reporters in sight.

Instead of us moving into one of the gigantic victor's houses, my mother had asked them if they could just make tweaks to our own home instead. It still looks the same on the outside, but on the inside, we now have heat and air conditioning, heated water, a shower, new appliances and mattresses, and a nice warm, earthy green paint coating all of the walls. It was perfect. All three of us knew that we could never leave this house, so we decided to just stay here instead.

The moment I walked into it for the first time, I smiled. My mom goes into the kitchen, "do you want anything to eat?" she asks me. I nod enthusiastically and look inside of our new refrigerator. There was so much food, it was incredible. She pulls out some strawberries and hands them to me.

"Thank you," I say.

We all take seats around our little table in the dining room, and Prim is the first one to speak up after a couple minutes of silence, "We are so happy that you are back, Katniss. It was weird without you here, but we managed."

"That's good," I say to my little sister and smile. Although, I knew that they would manage with Gale helping them out. I knew that I could always count on him. He had my back all of the time. In the woods and in life.

I shook Gale out of my thoughts. I just wanted to think about my family right now. But then Prim asked a question that I didn't want to answer about a topic that I never wanted to talk about. Ever. "What was it like competing in the Hunger Games? You must have been really scared. When did you first think that you were going to die?"

My mom's eyes widened, "Prim! Please don't talk about that." She scolded.

I could feel my throat tightening. The games were awful. The worst experience I could ever have, and I did it for the capitol's amusement. That disgusted me. All I wanted to do was forget about the Hunger Games and move on in my life like it never happened, but I knew that that was impossible.

I could tell that Prim was sorry that she brought up the topic and ashamed, but I couldn't stand to think about it. I stood up and looked at my mother, "I'm going to the woods to hunt for a little bit," I said then turned to leave. She just nodded in understanding which I am glad for. I am glad that she respects the pain that I am going through.

I get out to the woods and run to me and my father's spot. It was so hot outside that I needed the cool water and a relaxing swim to clear my mind. I take my shirt off, and jump into the water in my bra and shorts. The cold water cooled my skin, and I swam around a bit while my mind blanked.

I got up out of the water and went to go sit on a rock to dry off, but when I get to my favorite rock, someone is already there. I freeze in my tracks. Gale is sitting there, on _my_ rock. Immediately, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Gale!" I shriek. "How long have you been sitting there?"

He grins and stifles a laugh, "Oh, I've been here since before you started swimming."

I roll my eyes, "You're such a stalker!" I say. I pick up my shirt that's at my feet and smack him with it. It hits him right in the arm. We both laugh uncontrollably. _Just like old times_ I think. Then a mischievous grins appears on his lips. Uh oh. Quickly, he stands up then tackles me, pinning me to the ground.

"You'll pay for that," he says completely seriously. Suddenly, he starts tickling my stomach furiously. It isn't until I feel his warm fingers on my bare stomach sending hundreds of electrical shocks through me that I remember that I only have a bra on.

While laughing uncontrollably I manage to get out, "Gale! Gale! Stop! You are gonna suffocate me from all of this laughing!"

"Just wanted to give you a proper 'Welcome Back'," he smiled while standing back up. He gives me a hand back to my feet, and I did not miss the quick glance he made to my chest. Immediately, my arms cross back over my chest.

"Keep your hormones in check," I say to him. That was a little inside joke we have. About two years ago when I was fourteen, and he was sixteen, Gale and I were walking back to his house after trading at Greasy Sae's, when a boy in my class saw us walking and came up and started talking to me. The three of us stood there talking for a while, but then the boy just started staring at my chest. That's when Gale warned, "Kid, keep your hormones in check." That had made me laugh. The boy's cheeks turned bright red and his mouth dropped. "Careful, you'll catch flies," Gale had said. The boy was so embarrassed that he just turned and left. That was such a great memory that neither Gale nor I ever forgot it.

So, when I dropped that line on him, he just stared at me blankly. I raised my eye brows at him expecting a response. He gave an awkward embarrassed laugh. Yes he was embarrassed, especially since I caught him. "Sorry," he muttered. I just rolled my eyes and laughed nonchalantly at his embarrassment.

I picked up my shirt from the ground and slid it on over my head. I was a little drier now but still damp.

"So, do you wanna hunt with me today?" I asked him. He looked back up at my face.

"Sure," he sincerely smiled.

We checked his snare lines, and were pleased at the number of squirrels they got. His game bag was almost full just from that. I was so happy that I was hunting again. It was my favorite thing in the whole world. I only shot three squirrels and one rabbit, but that's okay. It's been a while since I last hunted. As Gale and I hunted, it felt so normal, so familiar, like the games never even happened. We were acting so nonchalant. But as we sat in the Hob at Greasy Sae's booth slurping down some sort of stew, it felt wrong. Gale is my best friend and the best hunting partner, and although I wanted more than anything to forget about the games, I wanted so badly to know how he took it and what he thought about how I pretended to love Peeta. Or did he think it's real? That I really do love Peeta? If he thinks that, is he mad? Does he not care? Is he happy? Wait! Why do I care? Why do I care what Gale thinks about that? I mean, I've never thought about him as more than a hunting partner, but am I now? Do I want him to more than that? No, of course not. What am I thinking? I don't have a thing for Gale. I mean, so what if his smile makes me smile, or that his touch makes me shiver, or that his hugs make me feel safe and warm, or that I can't think about him without literally smiling, or that right now I am suddenly getting the urge to hold his hand? Wait what! No, you don't like Gale Hawthorne. Woah! I must be going crazy. I am arguing with myself.

I snap out of my moment of insanity. I look over at Gale. Why was I thinking about him like that? He is my best friend. You aren't supposed to think about your best friend like that, right? He probably doesn't even like me like that anyways.

Gale sees me looking at him after he finished his bowl of stew. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" I ask.

"Well," he starts carefully. "You've been staring off into space for the past five minutes, plus you just got out of the hunger games alive, so I can tell that you are at least a little on edge."

I sigh. The guy knows me so well. At least he doesn't know me well enough to be able to read my thoughts because that would be awkward if he knew that I was just thinking about him like that. "Ya, I'm trying so hard to make things go back to the way they were, but ever since the games ended I've been having nightmares about it. It was terrible, Gale, I just can't explain what it was like." I started telling him about the terror I felt in there, and he listened intently and nodded every now and then. But I didn't tell him about how I felt awful like I was being used by the capitol, and how I felt like they could make me do whatever they wanted me to do. That was the truth. They practically forced me to be 'in love' with Peeta, and I had to pretend that in order to stay alive. I just hope that I will never have to do that again.

When I was done explaining to him about how crappy the games are, he pulled me into a hug, and whispered in my ear, "Oh, Katniss, I'm _so_ sorry that you had to go through that. I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you." The last part that he said shocked me. He was sorry that he couldn't protect me? He probably just means like having my back like he does when we hunt. Ya. But, I get lost in the sensation that his breath on my ear gives me. My thoughts get all hazy, but when he pulls away, I get pulled back into reality. Gale and I are just friends. What is with my thoughts today?

We leave the Hob and start walking back to our houses. My house comes first and he walks up to the door with me. My mom and Prim aren't home, so they must be in the square doing something. I walk inside, and Gale follows me, but I don't question it. He shuts the door behind him, and I start to walk to the living room, but before I get very far at all, he grabs my wrist. "What, Gale?"

He is silent, and I turn to look at him. He as looking at me with an intense look in his eyes. This confuses me. "Gale, are you okay?" I ask. He lets go of my wrist and takes a step towards me. Suddenly, he puts his lips on mine. I can't think, and I don't wanna think. His lips are warm and comforting. I want more, I need more. When he pulls away I realized that I had stepped so close to him that we were packed tight together, and that I had kissed him back. I had done that without trying to, without thinking about it. It just happened because I wanted it to. That never happened with Peeta. All my kisses with him were planned and staged and felt completely different. Now I am confused. Does Gale really think of me like that? Do I really like him? Were my thoughts before true? Do I love Gale Hawthorne?

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just had to do that once before I lost you completely."

_What?_ I thought.

Lost me completely? What the heck does that mean? Why would he lose me? He would never lose me. Oh no! He really _does_ like me, and he really _does_ think that I love Peeta. And I don't. I _care_ about Peeta, but not like that. I have never cared about anyone like _that_. But maybe I do now. Oh no! Gale thinks I love Peeta, when really, I kinda love… him.

Gale turns and walks out of my house. "Wait!" I cry. I open the door again, "Gale! Wait!"

**And that's the end of Chapter 1! Do you likey? Do you hatey? (ya, I know those aren't real words, but I tend to make up my own words a lot) please let me know in your reviews! ;) PLEASE REVIEW! More reviews equal more and quicker updates!**

**I love Gale!**


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